The documentary, Sober Indian | Dangerous Indian, represents an intriguing business ethics case study. Most business law textbooks state that the moral minimum for ethical behavior to follow all existing laws. So what role should business ethics play, for example, when state legislators or regulators are unable or unwilling to address a public health crisis caused by an economic activity? Business law textbooks also generally identify two approaches to ethical decision making: Duty-based and Outcome-based. The duty-based approach focuses on the Golden Rule (i.e. do unto others as you would have them do unto you), whereas the outcome-based approach encourages business leaders to choose the alternative that produces the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people. So what approach should the beer industry take, for example, if it believes the State of Nebraska has unlawfully issued four beer licenses in the unincorporated town of Whiteclay? What approach should the beer industry take, even if those beer licenses were lawfully issued, to address the harms being caused by Whiteclay beer sales? Consider all these economic and non-economic factors when answering the questions below:
Identify the economic and non-economic issues, dilemmas, or problems facing the beer industry in Whiteclay?
What factor(s) restrict or discourage legislators or regulators from doing more to address these issues?
If you were the beer industry, describe how you would approach the issue of Whiteclay beer sales by using the-
Formalism (Duty-Based) Approach-
Consequentialism (Outcome-Based) Approach-